Pulling Triggers with a Purpose: The First Operator Support Shoot

The morning was cool and clear, which was fine, but nobody on the range was thinking about the weather. The executives showing up had just paid to shoot guns at a conference they were already tired of sitting through. Nobody knew exactly what to expect.

That was the point.

We wanted to see what happens when you put four business leaders and one combat veteran on a team and hand them problems that can't be solved with a slide deck.

The Operator Support Shoot was a pilot event, run with Owners In Honor at the NAPE Conference. We wanted a range experience that actually connected people instead of another handshake-and-mingle networking event. Raise some money for veterans, make it worth people's mid-week, see if the concept holds water.

It did. The whole thing ended up being the most talked-about event of the conference.

The Format: Veterans Lead

Each team had one veteran captain and four executives. The veterans weren't just competing. They were running the show.

Before event day, captains met with their teams to go over weapons handling, range safety, and the basics everyone needed before stepping up to a lane. A lot of the executives had never shot before, or hadn't touched a gun in years. That meant trust started early, because the veteran was the only person on the team who actually knew what they were doing.

Then the clock started and the theory went out the window.

The stages weren't standard range drills. They were problems you had to work through as a team, fast. Either you figured it out together or you just stood there watching the timer run down. Most teams stumbled through the first stage awkwardly. By the second and third, they had a rhythm going. You could tell because people stopped looking at each other for confirmation and just moved.

By the last stage, everyone who had shown up with those polite "why am I here" smiles were breathing heavily and grinning for real.

The Veteran Perspective

We wanted the lanes to be challenging without being unsafe. Getting that balance right matters more than it sounds, especially with mixed-experience shooters. The veterans running the teams agreed we nailed it.

Matthew Lenhig captained one of the teams. Former SEAL Warrant Officer, twenty years in, former SEAL Training Officer, entrepreneur, on the OIH Board of Directors. Not an easy person to impress.

His take:

"This was the best shooting event I've ever been to. There was really no way for safety violations to happen and yet the lanes were dynamic and challenging."

That's the standard. If an event doesn't hit both of those marks at once, it's not worth running.

What Actually Happened Out There

These teams were strangers in the morning. Four hours later, they were something else entirely.

Not networking contacts. Not "connections." People who'd been through stress together. That's the difference between sitting next to someone at a panel and having to solve a live problem with them when the clock is running and the round are flying. You learn who they are fast.

The veterans brought discipline and practical problem-solving under pressure. The executives brought competitive drive and a willingness to look dumb learning something new. Neither of those things is easy to manufacture in a normal event setting. They happened naturally because the format forced it.

The Fundraising Impact

The goal was awareness first, fundraising second. We cleared both.

$12,500 raised. 

For a first run, that's strong. The money is nice. The proof of concept matters more: executives will actually spend time and money on an experience that puts them face to face with veterans doing real work together.

They showed up and did the thing that raised the money.

Eighty-five percent of everything raised goes straight to veterans in the OIH program. It funds mentorship, coaching, and the community infrastructure that helps veterans transition into entrepreneurship after service.

2027: Two Locations, Two Events

The pilot proved the concept works.

Next year we're running two Operator Support Shoots at two locations. More stages, more shooters, same format.

If you were at the pilot, you already know what this is. If you weren't, there won't be a better way to understand what we're doing than getting on a lane and experiencing it firsthand.

See you there.

Owners In Honor builds bridges between veterans and the entrepreneurial community. The Operator Support Shoot is one way we make it real.

For questions about sponsorship, team registration, or 2027 events, visit the Operator Support Shoot page.